The Tale of a Heart That Should be Beating
by MizumociKygro
Summary: William has finally freed from Xana, of course his 'freedom' would be much more enjoyable if his friends didn't hate him and a certain AI would stop messing with his head. WilliamxXana female along with OddxSissi, YumixUlrich, and JeremyxAelita
1. The return

There is only one word to describe how William felt the day he was finally free from Xana's control-shit. Complete, utter Shit Yumi hardly said hi before she rejected him for Ulrich and of course said Ulrich wasn't too happy to have him back. That day was a living hell, the whole group avoided him, and when they thought he wasn't looking they cast wary glances at him, as if to check to make sure he wouldn't turn evil again.

"Oh, stop it Jeremy"

"but I'm serious that new haircut looks amazing Aelita"

"I only got a trim"

"Your point?"

"You can't even really tell"

"well who's to say your hair wasn't amazing to begin with"

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Einstein"

"Odd!"

Unable to stand listening to how happy the others were, together and away from him, any longer William left the cafeteria without finishing his supper. The raven haired teen sighed in relief when he reached his room. Without a word he kicked off his shoes and let himself fall onto his bed. He just wanted to sleep, he didn't want to think about how his friends hated him, or how the school thought he was a nutcase, or how much he wished he had never stepped foot in that . Factory. A soft  
sigh escaped the boys lips as he easily slipped into sleep fully clothed; after all he hadn't slept in months.

"William" Said William stirred slightly, reluctant to break his slumber.

"William!" The voice called louder this time. Recognizing the voice as Yumi's, William sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Yumi?" William could make out only her shape in the darkness, her's and another's.

"You're too late" This time it was Ulrich, William flinched as he now saw the pair clearly; Ulrich's arm was wound tightly  
around Yumi's waist, and Yumi was leaning against the brunette intimately.

"Surprised? What did you expect" Ulrich chuckled, and Yumi joined as well.

"Me to welcome you with open arms, yeah right. You never stood a chance."  
William felt he might die when they kissed, The scene changed. He was now on lyoko, all of his freinds running in complete terror from...him.

"Why did you come back" it was Jeremy, William was infront of them in the scanner room.

"I-I thought" William felt himself trip over his own words.

"We can never forgive you William" This time it was Odd.

"You ruined my only chance of seeing my father" Aelita.

"You're just a two-bit Casanova" Yumi.

"Who was dumb enough to get captured by Xana" Ulrich.  
William was on the floor now using his hands to cover his ears and block them out.

"He sure is dumb, I have a better chance with Ulrich than he does with Yumi" Sissi.

"Not to mention William, you are currently flunking out of school" the principal.

"You're parents must be ashamed" Jim.

"We have no son" William's father.

"He is a monster, not our son" William's mother.

William wanted to scream, to run away but he couldn't. He even wished for a brief moment that he was back under Xana's control. That moment was enough.

"William"

William refused to open his eyes this time.

"Open your eyes"

William hoped the voice would go away.

"Aren't you going to obey your mistress?" The voice sounded sweet like honey but it was obviously mocking him.

"Mistress?" William recognized the voice, but could not remember how.

"Don't you remember 'I wish I was still under Xana's control, then I could make them all pay'" William shuddered when he felt a hand on his shoulder and breath in his ear, even more so at the actual words that mirrored his exact thought from moments before.

"Open your eyes now, they have all gone away now" Xana hummed in the William's ear, her hand, that was not on his shoulder, running through his raven hair.

"Stop that" William murmured as he slowly opened his eyes to find that the people where indeed gone, and so was the factory, He was on Lyoko.

"Why, your hair is so soft" Xana whispered, now in William's sight. However before him was not the black blob of an entity he had imagined, but instead a beautiful young girl with short white hair with long bangs that had a bluish tint to them, she had blood red eyes and pale skin, almost the same shade as her hair.

"I don't care, leave me alone" William said brushing her hands away, he didn't care how pretty she was; she was still evil and had ruined his life.

"My my, is this how you should treat your mistress?" Xana tsked not fazed by William's harsh treatment.

"You aren't my mistress, I'm free now thanks to Jeremy and the others" William didn't even trust in his own words. Xana grabbed his arm and looked him directly in the eye.

"Jeremy or no Jeremy, others or no others, Lyoko or no Lyoko, you shall always be mine" Xana hissed menacingly before placing her lips forcibly on the stunned boy in front of her. The silver haired girl hummed in satisfaction as played with William's hair-her William's hair. William could do nothing except let himself be kissed passionately against his own will.

"William!" This voice, Yumi's-the real Yumi's, shattered William's dream.

"William you're going to be late for PE" William sat up, slowly shaking off his sleep, and not totally sure rather or not he had just had a nightmare.


	2. Nightmares

William hesitated in getting ready his mind still on his nightmare- at this point in time he had deduced that there was no way that wasn't a nightmare- Yumi's words in his dream, would they be any different in real life? He reasoned that she had woken him up and there for cared even a little about them. However the sound of her footsteps and the murmurs under Yumi's breathe, had lead William to believe that the whole incident had something to do with a certain pink haired girl.

Somehow, the fact that Aelita forgave him is perhaps why he felt so agitated about the whole situation. If she could forgive him when he lead to the death of her father-and almost her own, why couldn't the others? That wasn't what bothered him most, Aelita was the only one he wished hadn't forgiven him-she was too kind for her own good. She lost her only chance to see her father all because William couldn't take Xana seriously-that was perhaps the part he regretted most of his mistake.

After finally being able to concentrate enough to finish getting ready William headed for gym class-receiving weird glances and snickers the whole way. In that one trip to gym, his anger resurfaced and he wondered how Xana could show her face in his dreams-nightmares, knowing she caused all this. William shook himself out of his thoughts, that was then and this is now. His trip backed to reality put him face to face with his "friends" which didn't seem too happy to see him.

Except, of course, Aelita who was smiling brightly and gesturing for him to come over and join them. That was all it took for William to give in to his urge to gravitate to the only person who seemed to not hate him at the moment. Some small voice at the back of his head told him that he didn't want her to forgive him, but he wasn't strong enough to suffer alone. This voice grew louder with every unsure glance he received and faded away every time Aelita assured him that they were afraid for him not of him. William knew that this was a lie, but this repetitive lie was enough to calm him so that he was still alive at the end of the day.

"Good night" Aelita smiled and waved at William, before heading to Jeremy's room. William knew at this point that she wasn't going to sleep; she would be searching desperately for her father. He felt his heart sink, once again reminded that the only friend he had left was hurt by him. The young teen lay awake in bed, refusing to sleep if Aelita wasn't going to. After awhile sleep took his mind, and he was unable to fight it as his tired body fell numb.

The awkward but comforting silence of a dreamless was not what greeted him as he lost consciousness. Instead it was a scene, as if it were a movie, Aelita sitting on the edge of Jeremy's bed leaning forward to observe the work Jeremy had produced thus far, Jeremy's face was facing a screen full of numbers and bars William did not recognize. However there was a file on the computer desk with a name he knew all too well-Franz Hopper.

"I don't think he escaped" came the breathless whisper that shattered the silence of the scene. Aelita stood up with a start her green eyes wide.

"Of course he did" she said of course, but her face showed that she was desperately trying to believe her own words "why would you say that?" her voice sounded fairly steady, but William could hear the fear, and he was sure Jeremy could as well.

"I was just preparing you for the worse; we haven't found any trace of him..." Jeremy struggled to explain, eventually just deciding to reassure her "we aren't going to give up yet"  
Aelita smiled weakly "I'm sure daddy is just afraid Xana isn't gone yet" the small pink haired girl hugged a pillow to her chest as tears silently flowed. William's heart ached this was worse than his own pain. He quickly went to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't cry, he's out there, I know he is" Aelita showed no response

"Please, I'll do anything to help" William frantically turned to Jeremy

"What about Lyoko, we could search the digital sea, I'll go" Once again no response.

"Don't ignore me! I can help, please, I didn't mean too-It was my fault but it won't happen again" William's pleas fell on deaf ears as the scene melted away and he found himself on Lyoko.

"Well, well look who can't go a single night without me rescuing him from his own dreams" A voice that filled William with dread sounded from behind him. His fears where confirmed when he was face to face with the one who caused all of this. Xana laughed lightly, touching his cheek, becoming very amused when he shuddered away from the touch.

"My, why don't you show your appreciation?" Xana's laugh sounded again this time louder, she enjoyed the look of quiet submission on his face. William frowned, and tensed feeling irritation bubble up above the fear at her words.

"Appreciation? You're the reason things are like this!" Xana seemed surprised at first but soon her surprise switched back to a smug expression.

"I hate to break it to you William, but I would never have been able to capture you if you had listened to Jeremy" She smiled in satisfaction as the dark haired boy's expression darkened; she had him right where she wanted him.

"I didn't know, I couldn't have known that this would happen" His words where weak echoes of his own thoughts.

"Of course not" She pulled his face closer to hers looking him directly in the eyes "poor William, just a victim of the horrible AI" she whispered "am I correct?"

William's muscles tensed at the closeness, he did not want a repeat of the previous dream. Unable to form words William gave a weak nod.

Xana smiles, a smile that might be mistaken as sweet-if one did not know better. As if she could read his thoughts she leaned in brushing their lips before he backed out of her way. She placed her hand at the back of his head preventing him from moving out of her grip.

"You really don't want a kiss do you?" she let him escape her "Fine with me, just remember that I am your master" she got close to his ear "not Yumi's, not Aelita-me" with that she disappeared abandoning William in the middle of an empty digital plain.


	3. A new chance

Where Xana had left off, William's nightmares picked up. The dark haired teen felt ripped up inside each time the gruesome images in front of him changed. He wished desperately, he wished that he could not look, that he would wake up, that he would just die already. For a brief moment he wished once again for the only safe presence that seemed to lurk within his dreams. Xana didn't come, he could feel it her blood red eyes watching as he suffered her punishment, he could almost hear her awful voice "next time obey your mistress".

"Obey"

"And next time I'll save you"

William woke up in a cold sweat his throat sore, he only realized then that he had been screaming. He looked warily at the clock before getting ready-he had decided that it was late enough to get ready.

When he opened the door, howeve,r he was met with annoyed and skeptical glance-except for one, one was concerned. You guessed it, it was none other than Aelita who had clearly already been awake. It was easy to tell by the way she was wearing the same clothes and had the premonition of dark circles beneath her eyes.

"Are you okay William" At that moment the world stood still he couldn't see the real Aelita only the one from his dreams. The pink haired girl took a careful step him, green eyes filled to the brim with worry. Quickly and quietly, William pulled himself together doing his best to smile.

"Yeah, just a bad dream-nothing I can't handle" The fifteen year old was pleasantly surprised at how normal he sounded, obviously the feeling was mutual with Aelita because a sweet smile broke across her face.

"I'm glad you're back to normal" he felt a slight emotion, not quite happiness-but peaceful. William walked with Aelita, dully noting how warm her presence was-it was the warmest he had felt in a long time.

"Here" the pink haired girl said quietly pulling up a chair for him next to her. Trying his very best to ignore the pensive look Jeremy was giving him from Aelita's other side William sat down. Due to his sudden lack of numbness where the warmth had taken over, the usually confident young teen noticed things he hadn't the last couple of days.

Such as the careful way teachers didn't ask him questions, even when he was clearly paying attention. Ignoring this, William went back to what he did during class before he was possessed-doing anything but his school work. After a while the bell rang and the kids left for lunch absorbed in their own conversations. William got up and left for the dorms, of course there was a certain pink girl that wasn't going to leave that alone.

"Where are you going" Aelita had grabbed gently his arm. "I'm not hungry" It was a lie and an obvious one at that, he was unable to hide the fear and malice lining his voice.

"No one blames you" It was Aelita's turn to tell an obvious lie. William silently thanked whatever god there might be that he wasn't facing her because he could feel himself twitch a little and his lips mash into a hard line at this statement. He wanted to say a lot of things at that very moment, 'I wish that was true', 'why do you even care?', 'I know that isn't true', 'then why are they treating me like the enemy?'. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally gripped an answer that suited the situation.

"Thank you" It was simple but sincere enough to cause the delicate hand to drop away from his arm, William noted how much colder he felt when it did. His back still turned he headed to the dorms, he sat on his bed but didn't let himself fall asleep. Instead he softly hummed a tune that he wasn't sure even existed and tried his best not to think.

Despite his best efforts he thought anyway. Most of these thoughts revolved around his dreams, including one that stuck. Classes were cancelled for the evening, Aelita and Jeremy would most likely work on finding Aelita's father-this is where the thought that stuck came from.

"I want to be the one to find Franz Hopper" Came his own whisper. It was crazy, for one thing the man was most likely gone forever. For another thing there was a very slim chance that Jeremy would trust William enough to let him help. The dark haired boy shuddered as he remembered the scene from his dream where Jeremy and Aelita refused to let him help.

Shaking off this scene, he came up with the final reason why it was a crazy idea. Could he really stand to see Aelita like she was in his dream? No matter how good these reasons where, the thought wouldn't leave him alone. So much so that he couldn't even wait to ask after they came back, before long he found himself wandering towards Jeremy's room.

Upon reaching said room he was greeted by the evidence that he was right about what they had been doing. There was files and papers scattered everywhere, the bed was made but the sheets where scrunched up where they had been sitting, and there was several windows up on the screen. William sat carefully on the bed, making sure not to mess up any of the files. He leaned back against the wall, prepared for a long wait, he relaxed easily.

"William?" Apparently the wait wasn't long as he expected, because his dreamless state-he wouldn't call it sleep because he distinctly remembered each scratch in the wall he had unconsciously memorized- was soon interrupted with the feathery voice he was growing slightly attached to. William smiled up at Aelita, glad to see that her shock had turned into a small welcoming smile.

"What are you doing here?" For the first time during that night Jeremy had made himself visible to William, and, frankly, William didn't like what he saw. Jeremy was wearing a frown that made it clear that it wasn't going to disappear until William did. Well, boy did William have some bad news for that frown.

"I'm here to help find Franz Hopper" the dark haired boy mentally smiled, he retrieved another piece of his old self-he could feel his usually stubbornness flowing through him. Clearly this was obvious, because Jeremy's brow furrowed as he racked his brain for a way to get William to help. The blonde's expression let up a little and William knew he had come up with something to say, William was ready to fight it.

"Let him help" The two boys were more or less shocked when they heard the statement come from the small pink girl that ruined any argument.

"We need someone to man the new program" Aelita continued firmly. Jeremy sighed, clearly giving in.

"Fine" Jeremy's expression remained firm as he turned to William.

"If I see any sign that you might hurt Aelita, I'm pulling the plug with you inside" Aelita frowned, but William couldn't help but smile as his natural 'must-win' personality rejoiced. The older teen put his hands up in mock surrender, still smirking.

"Alright, alright-don't shoot" Jeremy wasn't amused but Aelita couldn't suppress a giggle and William felt absolutely light headed feeling more like himself than he had in what seemed like forever.

"If he's helping then we need to move our research to the factory so he can test the new program" The braniac made a point of not addressing William directly or even using his name. Aelita nodded starting to collect the folders and papers, William helped her gratefully.

3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3~3

What do you think? What is going to happen when William returns to Lyoko? What is the new program? I am really curious to hear what you think.


	4. Networks and Smiles

This one is still kind of short, I was on a time crunch though. I haven't had much time to work on it this week and I wanted to update ASAP the next chapter will be much longer and hopefully up by the end of the week. I hope you like my story :D

Jeremy may have accepted that Aelita wanted to help William by having him help then, it was a part of Aelita's nature. However the last time William went to Lyoko, he caused many problems, and now, he wasn't the same-Jeremy could feel it.

It wasn't the same difference one would assume, which would be the dark haired being more responsible and wary, but underneath the layer of a suffering boy, underneath the layer of a two-bit Casanova, underneath the layer of a hot head, underneath all that William was and appeared to be-there was this dark presence.

Xana was dead, his symbol no longer implanted in William and yet there was this uneasy feeling around him, that is why the group stayed away from him. It was if Xana had damaged his aura, the others wanted no part in that- Xana was gone and they were supposed to be ordinary kids now. Not forever cursed with the evil AI like William was, the only one who was immune to this feeling seemed to be Aelita-it was either that or she was fine with dealing with it.

This tension along with the fact that Jeremy felt guilty about treating William so poorly, covering it up in his head by reasoning that if William had just listened things wouldn't be like this, was the reason for the uneasy side long glances the blonde was giving William the whole way to the factory. At each glance he was greeted by Aelita's frown and a distraught William who was lagging a few steps behind her.

The High from recovering pieces of his old self had officially worn off and now all William could feel was Jeremy's eyes warily watching him, all he could see was Aelita silently defending him, and all he could think about was how bad he felt about taking advantage of Aelita's kind and naïve nature-maybe even creating some potential problems between her and Jeremy- in order to ease his guilt about causing Franz Hopper's disappearance.

Franz Hopper…

The mere thought of the name inspired William to break free of his fears and go through with this, after all if it wasn't for Franz Hopper he would have never gotten so close to being a Lyoko warrior as he had, and he would be within Xana's grip. As long as he could find that man, as long as he could see the person who had brought some of the happiness back into his life reunited with her father, then maybe, maybe, he could have the courage to not regret anymore.

A life without regret, William smiled at the thought, he could be a part of the group once again, maybe even win Yumi's affections. After all, he hadn't really lost, not yet. Happiness and even a little surprise returned to William once again as he realized this part of him had never left. Optimism is something he would need if he was to ever recover Franz Hopper and hopefully with that man William would also recover the rest of the person he once was.

"Head for the scanners" Jeremy's voice broke through the haze of his thoughts making William realize that they were at the factory where Jeremy now sat at the super computer bringing thing up on the screen William couldn't hope to understand. Instead of trying to decipher them, which most likely would have just angered Jeremy, William went to the scanner room leaving Aelita and Jeremy to operate the super computer

William felt himself tense up at the sight of the scanner, but he climbed into it nonetheless consenting in a voice he hoped sounded brave that he was ready. He heard the faint chorus of Jeremy's 'transfer scanner virtualization' through the walls of the scanner, blinded by the flash of the light. Had the scanning process taken this long the first time? Of course not, the first time there wasn't this ever present fear finally halted when he landed on the symbol of Xana within the fifth sector.

"I'm sorry but I can't virtualize you directly into the network" Aelita's voice sounded from outside the virtual world. William tried not to get sick to his stomach as the room stopped spinning and waited for the door to open so that he could continue.

"In sector five there are tunnels of information leading from the core, up until recently it was necessary for me to block the information so the others could go to a different. However the new program should allow you to penetrate these tunnels, where we believe Franz Hoppers digital code is." Jeremy explained doing his very best to keep it simple. William worked his way through the puzzle of a room that was empty due to the absence of Xana's monsters, listening carefully to what Jeremy had to say- Including a very worrying 'should'.

"What happens if something goes wrong?" William couldn't help but ask, finally reaching the elevator he jumped on as it flew past.

"Then your digital envelop along with human data will most likely be overwhelming to the tunnels and you'll turn into data" Jeremy didn't sound too worried about this, obviously confident in his program.

"Nice to know" William finally reached the end of the sector in front of the information bank

"I'm here, now what?"

"I'm sending you the over wing you should be able to enter the tunnels at any point, but leave the over wing behind so you can get back afterwards" William obeyed hopping on the over wing when it arrived and flying straight for the nearest tunnel hoping that if he did this fast than he wouldn't have time to be afraid.

Entering the data tunnels was a sensation that he guessed would be close to death, the very few senses Lyoko allowed where dulled and yet there was a sharp pain every time he touched one of the data envelops, and yet he did anyway. Opening and searching through the data of each one he encountered. All night he searched high and low while Aelita and Jeremy searched from their end, his search finally was put to a stop when Jeremy told him that it time for classes before materializing William.

William felt his body feel limp as he fell out of the scanner trying to catch himself with the side of the scanner he gave them a weak smile.

"How far did we get?" Aelita frowned at William's question.

"We got through about 1% of the data last night" Jeremy answered him also visibly upset over this fact. William patted Aelita's head.

"Hey, don't worry about it-the next 1% might be a clue to your father right?" Aelita smiled once again letting her cheerful personality shine through. Once again once again felt un believably warm. Not only had he made Aelita smile and was also another step closer to Franz Hopper-to the group, but he had also managed to escape from Xana and his dreams for the night.

The rest of that day wasn't much different from the last, the group treated him with the same cold indifference and his teachers like he was made of both dense rock and breakable glass, but he was getting used to it. Aelita accepted him, taking on the role of his best friend and younger sister.

William was even getting a strange protective feeling over her. This feeling worsened as the days passed and no trace of Franz Hopper was found; now it was more than finding the creator of Lyoko and himself, it was about preserving her smile. The smile he was sure could save a dying man, it had saved him after all.

As each day passed he could see her smile leave for just a bit longer, now he understood why Jeremy was so wary of him. William could break her just as easily as not finding Franz Hopper could, it didn't take him long to figure out that Aelita blamed herself for what happened to William. Of course she didn't say this but it was in her nature, and each time he was insulted or ignored, a look of what he had initially thought was a look of pity and worry was a look of a guilt that should not even existed.

This realization did nothing to help his compulsive need to protect the pink girl as if she was his little sister, no, as if she was his savior. William found himself looking more frantically day by day, eventually not giving his body even a minute to recover before he looked to the next data bank. He had originally been fine with it taking time and was indifferent to what the envelopes held within but now as William looked through the data he felt his heart sink every time Jeremy said it was useless. It even got to the point where he read Jeremy's manual and virtualized himself on Lyoko when Aelita and Jeremy were eating or sleeping. Saving all the data he found to the super computer so Jeremy could look at it later.

Each time the other two arrived at the factor William was already there searching, it worried them that he was doing this to himself but they didn't stop him for fear what the tired, desperate boy might do. It was a day like any other when like always the scraggly looking boy was searching through the tunnels, powered by the hope of finding his old self and the fear of losing Aelita's smile forever. The smile that had saved him, the smile that kept him going.

William had to protect that smile, and those where his exact thoughts when he collapsed out of the scanner unconscious. 'I have to protect that smile' Aelita and Jeremy with the help of a reluctant Ulrich took him to the infirmary. The nurse shook her head once she was done examining him.

"He needs to go to the hospital his heart beat is too slow" Aelita felt herself crying on behalf of the unconscious barely recognizable William as they took him to the hospital she insisted she go too and of course Jeremy went as well, he couldn't let her blame herself for this. However that was impossible to prevent as Aelita continued to create reasons why it was her fault that their friend was in this condition.

Jeremy tried to comfort her telling her that it was just as much his fault as it was her's, after all it was his program. Aelita had managed to stop crying as the doctor's assistant came to reassure them.

"Mr. Dunbar will be fine; he is just exhausted and a bit malnourished. However he is lucky to have friends like you, a little longer and he would have, well things would be different from the way they are now" the assistant reassured them.

"Can see him?" Aelita asked standing up still very obviously upset over the whole situation and quietly blaming herself. Jeremy put his arm around her reassuringly as the assistant gave them the go ahead to see him. The sight they were greeted with was considerably gruesome. The teen was hardly visible beneath all of the tubes and the wires hooked up to him in various places, the heart monitor next to him was truly cruel indeed showing an unsteady heart beat. Aelita let out a gasp turning her head from the sight, feeling more and more at fault with every beep from that accursed machine.

After a while the doctors shooed them out telling them to go home and get some rest, that night Jeremy and Aelita worked alone in silence. A silence usually filled with a chorus of 'how about this one's and 'don't worry we'll find him' s from William. The latter was usually mostly a reassurance to himself, but also a precaution to protect Aelita's smile.

That night William slept for the first time in two weeks, of course he was greeted by the numbing feeling of his night mare. Even in his unconscious and weak form William didn't ask for Xana's help. Even as he was greeted by gruesome of images of no one caring that he was gone and Aelita's smile disappearing because Franz Hopper was never find. Eventually Xana saved him without even being asked to. William found himself on Lyoko, only now after spending so much time on Lyoko did he realize that this wasn't Lyoko, just the watered down distorted version his mind recreated.

"Aren't you going to ask why I brought you here?" Xana asked tilting her head to the side, it was a simple gesture but humane enough to send shudders flowing through William. He had forgotten how hard she made herself to hate in his dreams. It scared him to see the evil Ai who had him in its clutches for months to appear as a human girl and a beautiful one at that. On top of that, she always saved him from his night mares.

"Seems you lost your fight, how boring-it's no fun to own a empty shell" Xana was obviously trying to get a rise out of him, her red eyes danced wickedly, she took his silence as a challenge. William was snapped out of his thoughts, even more unsure. By principle Xana should scare him and does, but now she just seemed like a mischievous child.

Perhaps…lonely as well?

William shook his head; Xana was an AI, a robot, virus, and an evil one at that. It wasn't capable of any feeling at all, and yet the girl in front of him clearly showed emotion. He hated it she made him think about everything; question everything he believed to be true. Around Aelita he felt warmed and numb from his thoughts, only focusing on Franz Hopper-he felt more like himself. Around Xana he felt cold and at the same time unbearably aware of his surroundings, but at the same time as he was losing himself a new person was growing inside, maybe a better person. Either way William still had no Idea rather or not he was having a nightmare.

I really don't have many comments about this chapter, other than it was really interesting to write. At the same time I feel so pitiful when I feel everything they're feeling, DON'T CRY AELITA! QAQ


	5. Disasters

Sorry this chapter is so late I hit a mental wall with this story, but don't worry I have my wrecking ball-and that wall is coming down. Also we have some YumixUlrich in this chapter.

William wasn't quite sure when his dreams ended and his sleep had begun, but he was certain when he woke up. This was partially due to the soreness he felt throughout his body, but the fact that he woke up in a hospital bed almost unable to move because of the wires hooked up to his body and to the slow monotonous beat of the heart beat monitor is mostly what sent him into a state of shock. William tried to free himself but with every move he made there was a protest of the wire, telling him no to move.

Amongst his struggling he did not notice the small group of people around him until a firm hand on his shoulder pushed him back down. That is what sent the second wave of confusion, there shouldn't be anyone there-and if anyone would show up whilst he was in the hospital it would be Aelita who couldn't hope to overpower him like that. He cleared his mind of these thoughts long enough to try to look at the faces of those who surrounded him through his limited vision lying down. Aelita that was expected, Jeremy understandable, the doctor was obviously responsible for the fact he was lying down, but who he didn't expect to see was the others.

Ulrich and Odd where also there, Odd looking both concerned and as if he was coming up with some sort of joke-it amazed William how long it took him to come up with his corny jokes- and Ulrich looking as if he really didn't want to be there, a tight frown on his face the same one Jeremy had worn every time he saw William not so long before. However there was someone missing, the person William wanted to see here the most-Yumi. It had been in his head any chance he had with Yumi was gone, even Ulrich was here, but not her-not the most important person.

"Good morning sleeping beauty" Odd finally came out with his 'gem' causing Aelita to smile slightly. William was grateful, Odd's bright personality was automatically opposed to anything sad or upsetting and yet he had come here anyway. The dark haired boy knew he should laugh, smile pretend that he thought the joke was funny-he owed the small boy that much at least. However he couldn't, William's thoughts where way to preoccupied with a certain raven haired beauty.

"Where's Yumi?" Odd frowned and William felt a pang of guilt but was more concerned about the answer to his question. Before an answer could be given or received a nurse entered the room telling him that there was another patient-a young girl, something about an accident-William didn't really listen. The doctor left quietly telling the others to not stay too long because William 'needed his rest'.

"The waiting room" Aelita replied quietly. Ulrich frowned more clearly holding something in, it didn't take him very long to let it out.

"Who do you think you are? I don't even understand why Yumi can still possibly care about you" Ulrich surprisingly did not raise his voice, he just watched a little satisfied when William flinched.

"You're just being selfish, you only want to find Aelita's father to ease your own guilt-you're only like this because you where being care less _again._" This time it was Aelita who flinched, she looked to Ulrich pleadingly.

"Ulrich…"

"Let him continue Aelita, he's right" Ulrich was obviously not pleased with William's response, he scowled.

"I'm done talking to _you_" Ulrich exited the room leaving William to try and get up to follow. Aelita stood up just in time for Jeremy to have already attempted to put him back down.

"You've been out for a while, a disaster has struck Japan-Ulrich is upset because Yumi is concerned over you as well as her family" Jeremy explained, already feeling the uneasy feeling of Xana's presence within William disappearing. The dark haired boy looked from Aelita to Jeremy, he then sat up against Jeremy's and the wires' bindings. Aelita looked like that she wanted to protest this but instead of saying something she glanced uneasily towards the door. William felt the guilt return, Aelita wanted to help Yumi but she couldn't because William had been selfish.

"You should go see Yumi" William didn't look her in the eye, he was sure she'd be able to tell he wanted her to stay. Aelita didn't say a word she just bit her lip and left silently, Jeremy looked at William giving him a slight smile before he followed, along with Odd who was a little hurt by William ignoring his joke. As soon as they left the young teen was hit by a wave of loneliness, he almost called them back, but didn't. It hurt without Aelita there his warm numbness was gone and all he could hear, see, touch, smell, and taste was the truth Ulrich had stated earlier.

"I need to find Franz Hopper." William whispered to himself, Ulrich was right all he wanted was his own redemption.

He only wanted to save Aelita's smile so he could keep his warm numb blanket.

He only wanted to free Franz Hopper to ease his own guilt.

And he only wanted to be with Yumi so he could to belong somewhere.

William cringed under the truth that he was just realizing, he didn't love Yumi, he didn't care about Aelita or her father-he was just selfish. He hated this feeling this feeling, he felt so tainted, so selfish, and it was his fault. He needed to pin the blame on someone else, find a reason to make his inner lies the truth.

"Xana…" William smiled, this was the key-of course the only entity more selfish than himself. With that he let his sore feeling wash over him so he could dream, relieve his guilt. Of course he knew it would get worse before it got better. The truth appeared before him his dream.

"Selfish."

"Uncaring."

"Tainted."

William smiled slightly waiting for Xana to rescue him from his nightmare. She didn't the dream continued slowly wiping William's hope. Why was he looking for her anyway? He was just making the words even more true. Could he actually care that she was gone? He couldn't possibly…anyone but Xana, he cared for anyone but Xana.

Yumi sat alone in the waiting room, holding tight in her hand an almost empty cup of coffee, her eyes alternating between the small television set and the clock hanging on the wall. She didn't blame herself like Aelita she did normally-but the raven haired beauty could not help but feel guilt. If only they hadn't treated him so coldly, he wasn't the enemy and they knew that very well. If only it 'wasn't for that accursed aura, the uneasy one that reminded her and the others so 'fondly' of Xana.

"More bodies were found today bringing the death count up to over 1,000 and" Yumi reached a shaking hand to the remote turning the dreaded machine off. Tears threatened to pore out of her already red eyes, things were supposed to be better now. Xana was gone, why weren't things better? Why had William suddenly fallen so ill, why did natural disaster after natural disaster continue to ravage her home land, taking her family and friends away from her?

"Why" she whispered out loud, not noticing Ulrich who was watching her cry alone. The brown haired teen sat next to her, putting a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. Yumi looked up realizing she had been crying, she smiled at him wiping the tears from her eyes. Ulrich smiled back, then seeing the remote in her hand and the blank television set, his face fell into a serious look.

"They found more didn't they?" Yumi stiffly nodded yes, looking back down. Ulrich, not knowing what to say settled for wrapping his arm around her.

"It's going to be alright" Ulrich let one of his hands fall through her hair pulling her ever closer. Yumi smiled whispering her thank you.

"Alright!" Odd shouted excitedly, as he, Aelita, and Jeremy entered the room seeing Yumi and Ulrich. Ulirch frowned and Odd put an arm over each of their shoulders. Jeremy looked akward and Aelita laughed.

"So when's the wedding" Odd teased both Ulrich and Yumi turned red but Yumi smiled a bit.

"I can't tell you that, you might actually show up" Yumi teased back.

Odd pouted "aw, come on-you know you love me". Ulrich finally joined the others in happiness, smiling and nodding at Odd.

"Couldn't live without you" Ulrich teased messing up Odd's hair. Odd frowned fixing it back into it's original shape.

"Watch the hair, will you?" Odd complained though he was still smiling.


	6. Update

I'm sorry for taking so long everyone! And coming back without even something for you to read D: I was working for the summer and had absolutely no free time between doing that and taking care of my mother(long story please don't ask). But now-however ironically-that school is starting i'll have time to work on this story. That is if anyone still cares to read it after all this time.


	7. Familiar

Jeremy and Aelita sat in the factory, once again-searching desperately for Franz Hopper. Or atleast, Jeremy was, Aelita frowned at her closest friend with worry. The memory of William collapsing still fresh in her mind, she couldn't bear it if that happened to Jeremy.

"You should take a break Jeremy" Aelita pressed once again only for Jeremy to shrug it off.

"I'm fine Aelita, I'm more than used to this" Aelita sighed shaking her head.

"I'm tired"

"I don't need you to stay right now, get some rest"

"Not without you!"

"..."

"..." Aelita stared at him intensly

"I'm doing this for you" Jeremy resigned.

"I know, and I appreciate it. But that doesn't mean you need to put yourself in the hospital" Jeremy smiled finally understanding her concern.

"Alright" The young genious turned the computer off and Aelita grabbed his hand.

"Thank you Jeremy" She smiled planting a kiss on his cheek.

About a week passed since William had first been admitted into the hospital and been on bed rest. But for the restless teen it felt like so much longer, his guilt had subsided when he had successfully pushed it on Xana but he still wanted to save Franz Hopper. If only to prove himself and Ulrich wrong.

His friends had been visiting him lately. They always went the same William would talk with Aelita and Odd in a light hearted way while Jeremy and Ulrich added in every once in a while. It turns out as long as William wasn't competition for Yumi he and Ulrich got a long well. Yumi wasn't there often as she was still dealing with the aftermath of the tsunami that had struck her home land and when she was there she hung back with a blank expression, slowly inching to the door uncomfortably.

But not today, today was the day William was finally breaking free-it also happened to be sunday on which there was no visiting hours. Leaving the hospital reminded William of returning to earth in many ways. For one thing his whole body felt like jello, for another he felt like he hadn't slept in month. But the biggest was he felt alone. William wasn't the loner type, he needed friends-adoring fans for his various pranks and stunts to feel comfortable.

On his way out William ran into a girl his age waiting to be dismissed from the hospital. The most noticible thing about her was how bandaged up she was, she had bandages around her head, neck, upper right arm and a cast on her lower left. But once William got past that he noticed her hair was so pale it was almost white so it matched her skin. And her Eyes where a startling red-brown. This girl had a familiar delicate-looking face framed by short hair. The only thing missing was the evil smirk.

William shuddered and ignored the girl's apology leaving as quickly as possible until he arrived at kadic. William thought about who he should tell if Xana was back. Aelita or Jeremy? No it would just cause them unnecassary stress if it was a mistake. Odd? No, he would go tell Aelita and Jeremy. Ulrich? No, Odd would notice if something was going on.

Yumi was the only choice, William heaved a sigh at this. Once she had gotten over her worry she had gone back to watching him like a hawk. It would be a long time before she trusted him again, but that's why she was perfect. She would have surely noticed Xana's pressence as William did and believe him easier. But then there was the matter of stress, Yumi was going through so much. But it was better than risking his security blanket via Aelita being upset.

William called Yumi up on the phone hoping she would answer. Each ring was longer than nessacary and it was almost painfull.

"Hello?" Yumi answered eventually in a tired voice.

"Meet me at the factory"

"Why?" Yumi replied understandably sucpicious.

"I'll explain when we get there, let's just say it has to do with you-know-who" Yumi sighed but jumped up at this phrase.

"Alright"

So, what do you think? Is the girl really Xana? What will happen at the factory? Will Jeremy and Aelita EVER kiss? I love to hear your opinions C: Sorry it's so short. I wanted to update quickly but I still don't have much free time but updates will be longer in the future.


	8. Xana and Lyoko

Quick note-Another really late and really short chapter-ugh I suck. But I at least got something done and ready to post. I promise longer and more frequent chapters in the future~

William didn't have to wait long after their conversation. Years of fighting Xana had made Yumi quick to respond, she was at the factory in no more than five minutes. As she swung down the rope and went to the elevator she felt a strong sense of nostalgia-she hoped Xana was not back. Once she got to the computer room William explained his encounter with the girl.

"You're the only one who has ever seen her human avatar, so I guess I'll have to trust your instinct" Yumi did feel guilt for judging William so harshly but always the sensible one, she immediately got the sense that William wanted Xana to be back so he could exact his revenge.

"I'm sure it was her" Yumi nodded-there was no harm in checking especially since William was so sure.

"Then we have no choice, I'll go-follow Jeremy's notes" William frowned at this.

"Wouldn't it be better if I went too? Safety in numbers" Yumi shifted uncomfortably she didn't like the idea of William returning to Lyoko.

"I think it would be better if you stayed here-we're just checking things out any way" William gave in it was easy to tell that she didn't want him to tag along-with good reason.

"Alright, go to the scanners then" William sat in the chair and started entering the command from the huge book Jeremy called his 'notes'. It felt familiar-too familiar. He briefly remembered the time while under Xana's command he had sabotaged the super computer.

"Scanner Yumi, Transfer Yumi, virtualization" William hit enter praying he did it right. Sure enough Yumi's data appeared on the screen and her voice sounded through the earpiece.

"What sector did you send me to?" She sounded worried, great William thought I managed to screw up again.

"Um, the Ice sector I think" There was a brief silence as Yumi explored her surroundings in awe.

"This isn't the ice sector" William sighed at this.

"Look, I'm sorry I'm a rookie at this" He was kind of irritated at her criticism.

"No, this isn't ANY sector" Yumi replied breathlessly.

"What do you mean not any sector?"

"Its new-William you were right-Xana is back" William felt a surge of pride at being right followed by panic.

"I'm bringing you back-" William started to punch in the commands.

"Not yet, I think I see something" Yumi said walking towards the tower which was glowing not red but blue.

"Be careful Yumi-it's dangerous" William warned remembering the same warning Jeremy had given him.

"I know I've fought Xana for years" Yumi replied looking around for any monsters as she approached the tower entering it. William waited for her to update me as he had no clue what the numbers on the screen meant.

"There's something here on the interface-but I can't get to it" Yumi eventually said exiting the tower.

"That's strange-maybe Jeremy can figure out how to get it"

"But for now it seems there's nothing else we can do" Yumi said before she was hit from behind devirtualizing. William only heard her scream and saw her data disappear from the screen, he tensed ripping the earpiece from his head he went down to the scanner room where Yumi was just stumbling out of the scanner.

"What happened?" She asked as William held her steady.

"You tell me" Yumi shook her head.

"I don't know-it must have been one of Xana's monsters" William allowed her to stand on her own still feeling awkward about his somewhat stalkerish behavior towards Yumi before his possession.

"Either way we should tell the other's soon…thanks by the way" William smiled, this encounter reminded William why he had liked Yumi so much-she was different. Although now he was more than happy to stay friends he felt relief that there was a reason other than to compete with Ulrich.

"No problem, I should have trusted you sooner" Yumi replied before getting back into the elevator.

"Let's go back" William joined her and they went back to Kadic where they called their friends and met with them in Jeremy's room.

"I can't believe it" Aelita said somewhat dejectedly.

"I know Aelita, we all thought Xana was gone" Jeremy said supportively putting his hand on her shoulder causing her to smile softly.

"Are you sure about this?" Ulrich asked and Yumi nodded.

"I saw it-Xana is back for sure" Odd stood up grinning.

"Well then there is only one thing to do now! Kick Xana's butt-this time for good" they couldn't help but laugh at Odd's cocky attitude but soon Yumi brought them back to seriousness.

"There's something else too, In a tower in the new sector we found-there was something strange"

"Strange how?" Aelita asked.

"It was blue not red, and inside the interface there was a file protected by a dozen firewalls" Jeremy thought about this for a moment.

"I think it may be something useful" Jeremy said.

"It's definitely something Xana doesn't want us to find" Yumi agreed. Aelita stood up "We'll check it out tomorrow-I think we could all use some rest" The pink haired girl looked directly at William.

"Agreed" The other's nodded and William sighed.

"Fine-but we'll check it out first thing tomorrow" William reluctantly agreed and the gang split up saying their goodnights in slightly dejected voices. Everyone had been sure Xana was gone for good and to hear she was back with a vengeance could not have been pleasant for anyone not even William. Some part of him had been wishing the entire time that he was wrong. That night he laid awake in hi bed his mind racing about what other changes Xana could have made-how much power she now had. However, it had been a long day and after a few short hours the teen fell asleep like his friends.

William looked around, he was almost immune to the nightmares by now, but they didn't come tonight-or at least not in the way they usually did. He was on Lyoko, but not a sector he recognized-even through the foggy memories of the time in which he was possessed. This sector resembled to forest sector but all the trees where dead and without leaves, and there was a pale brown dust underneath with the occasional rock here and there. Overall it seemed like one of the horror movies William had once enjoyed but now paled in comparison with the experiences he had thus far with Lyoko and Xana.

"The nightmare sector" William mused out loud exploring the sector's seemingly never ending strip of land-that of which one might experience in a nightmare. Suddenly he heard a whoosh of wind and a light thud, he turned around cautiously but bravely. It could only be one of Xana's monsters, or so he thought. But when he turned around he was facing Xana herself.

"That's right!" Xana laughed lightly a slight tone of menace in her words. William cringed at the very sound he had learned a long while ago that Xana's happiness meant his displeasure.

"I created this sector to punish you-since you went to Lyoko without my permission. Now every time you leave your nightmares you'll be faced with this" Xana said sitting on a nearby rock while William glared at her.

"But it really should count as a reward-I mean I put all this effort in just for you. You enjoy horror movies right" William nodded stiffly, if he didn't give her any fuel she would let him sleep in piece that much sooner.

"Oh and about what Yumi found on the interface-it's not worth decoding it. I normally don't help you brats but it's almost sad to win by too far so I have to throw you a bone every now and then" This struck William as suspicious-why would Xana point that out?

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" William replied wryly silently cursing himself for furthering the conversation. Curiosity had gotten the better of him.

"If it was important wouldn't I have locked it up with everything else you can't access?" Xana had a point there-and she knew it too. Her red eyes glistened in anticipation at William.

"Oh" William gave the simplest answer possible wanting to irritate the AI; if that was even possible. It worked, or at least it appeared to, Xana scowled at William and without another word disappeared in a cloud of black smoke allowing William to spend the remainder of the night in peace.


End file.
